Major agreements were reached at the May 20-21 summit in Chicago, the US, including those on the hand-over process in Afghanistan, the deployment of the EU missile defense shield, and the enhancement of NATO’s military capacity.

President Karolos Papoulias has been forced to hold negotiations over the past few days with three heads of pro-European bailout parties to discuss the establishment of a coalition government ahead of the country’s upcoming elections.

Francois Hollande’s victory in last week’s presidential election will have profound impact on not only France, Europe’s second biggest economy, for the next five years, but also the entire Eurozone.

Europe’s public debt crisis is experiencing new difficulties in the wake of the presidential election in France. The situation is deteriorating.

Late last week, Kabul capital and its three neighbouring provinces Paktia, Logar and Nangarhar were shaken by a series of Taliban attacks, which killed and injured dozens of people. They were the worst attacks against Kabul in a decade of US military presence in Afghanistan.

Tension between Sudan and South Sudan has increased causing concern that without a quick solution to their current disputes, the two neighboring countries will be plunged into a new war.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is now on an official visit to Cuba and Brazil in an effort to strengthen ties with traditional partners and integrate Vietnam into the world.

Vietnam’s participation in the ongoing 20th ASEAN summit in Cambodia shows the country’s consistent policy of being a proactive and responsible ASEAN member that significantly contributes to common issues in the interest of the regional grouping. 

World leaders discussed ways in Seoul on March 27 to protect nuclear materials and thwart nuclear terrorism. Though the objectives of the second Nuclear Security Summit are clear, achieving those objectives is far from certain.

A “comprehensive and mutual” truce has been agreed between Israel and Palestine after four days of fierce violence. The cease fire followed Egypt’s effort to broker a deal to calm military conflict in the Gaza Strip.

Afghanistan relationship has become severely strained lately. A US soldier shot and killed 16 Afghani civilians, mostly women and children, on March 11, adding more fuel to the fire after the burning of Korans by NATO soldiers last month.

Diplomatic efforts are being made to find a viable solution in Syria.

Vladimir Putin’s landslide victory in Russia’s Presidential election has sent him back to the Kremlin to assume the country’s top job. However, analysts predict his future path will not be a smooth one. 

The Party Central Committee has released a resolution highlighting major solutions in place to build a strong, healthy and genuine party in Vietnam.

Relations between the US and Afghanistan have become tense since US soldiers at the Bagram military base in Afghanistan burned a number of Korans. The case has caused a headache for both the US and Afghan governments.

Eurozone finance ministers met in Brussels on February 20 to consider a deal on the second bailout for Greece worth US$130 billion and a major write down of privately held Greek sovereign debt. There turns out to be no easy remedy for this public debt, which has become a dire threat.

State President Truong Tan Sang began a three-day official visit to Laos on February 8 aimed at enhancing the traditional friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

The world community is gravely concerned about increasing violence in Egypt over the past few days.

Improving the quality of Party members must be considered carefully with three criteria: admission, practice and removal of ineligible members from the Party.

People play a decisive role in the human social development process. This role is more significant in Vietnam’s socialist revolution which is led by the Communist Party.

Standard and Poor’s downgraded the credit ratings of nine euro-zone countries last week, making big news on a Black Friday (January 13). The rating downgrade hammers the euro-zone politicians’ efforts to win back investor confidence and renews doubts about Europe’s ability to bail itself out of its financial crisis.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is on a tour of Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Ecuador to gain political and economic support in Latin America.

Vietnam witnessed  many political, economic, cultural and social events in 2011. VOV has selected the top ten domestic events of the year as follows:

Iran’s nuclear program crisis seems unlikely to subside in the near future. Tension has grown from continuous confrontation in diplomacy, economic and even military between Iran and western countries, particularly the US.

Following are ten major world events selected by Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) as the most influential ones in 2011.

Through its participation in international forums, like the United Nations, Vietnam has gained useful experience and material support for its national development.

It has been one year since waves of unrest demanding regime change began in North Africa and the Middle East.

The Prime Minister has recently asked ministries, agencies and localities to tighten management of State capital sources in an effort to stop scattered investment and optimize the efficiency of State-funded projects.

Economists have forecast that the prices of goods at the end of the year will not see any shocking increases thanks to businesses effective preparations to ensure the adequate supply of goods.

The second session of the 13th National Assembly, which was wrapped up in Hanoi on November 26 after a 29-day sitting, has left a lasting impression on voters and people across the country.